This is a great mystery, but it is an illustration of the way Christ and the church are one. Ephesians 5:32
With God, nothing is purposeless. Everything He does, everything He creates, and all of His plans have a purpose. This is true with marriage. Marriage is not something God designed randomly or haphazardly. Instead, He designed marriage very intentionally. If you’re wondering what its purpose is, let me give you a hint! It is not primarily for our benefit. It’s for His. When modeled well, marriage serves the purpose of revealing Christ to the rest of the watching world.
Ephesians 5:32 teaches us that marriage illustrates the relationship between Christ and the church. You see, when marriages are healthy, they point others to Christ and His love to the rest of the watching world. As people submit to each other, as spouses respect each other, and as they look out for each other’s interests, those watching get a glimpse of how Christ loves them. Christ spared nothing to save the church; He even gave up His own life. When those watching see Christians demonstrating that kind of love and respect for spouses, the world stops and wonders how someone can have that kind of love. As they watch, they will see a small, minuscule picture of the relationship between Christ and the church. This is the purpose of marriage: to point people to Christ.
When was the last time you thought that the purpose of a Godly marriage is to point others to Christ? If you are married, do you find yourself only thinking of how marriage can benefit you, or do you seek, above all else, in your marriage to create a picture of Christ’s relationship with the church or those who are followers of Jesus? If you are single, this is a good time to do a pulse check: do you expect marriage to be for your benefit, or do you expect marriage to be for Christ’s benefit? When we shift our perspective and gain a picture of the purpose of marriage, knowing that it is not about us, then our marriages, and all of our relationships, will change drastically and will more clearly reflect Christ to the rest of the world.
If you are married, your assignment today is to sit down with your spouse and talk about your marriage. What’s going well? What needs help? Is your marriage pointing other people to Christ? If so, how can you keep pointing others to Christ through your marriage? If not, what strategic changes can you make so that your marriage points others to Christ? If you are single, your assignment is also to evaluate your life. Are you glorifying God with your life by pointing others to Christ? If not, what changes can you make so that your life models Christ to a world that is in desperate need of Him?
Ephesians 5:25-33 (NLT)
For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s word. He did this to present her to himself as a glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Instead, she will be holy and without fault. In the same way, husbands ought to love their wives as they love their own bodies. For a man who loves his wife actually shows love for himself. No one hates his own body but feeds and cares for it, just as Christ cares for the church. And we are members of his body.
As the Scriptures say, “A man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.” This is a great mystery, but it is an illustration of the way Christ and the church are one. So again I say, each man must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.
©2024 Sagebrush Church
